PIM

One of our top calendar apps for Windows Phone 8 would be the aptly name Simple Calendar. The replacement scheduler app has one of the nicest looking Live Tiles that we’ve come across and the unpretentious UI makes using it a breeze to operate.

Version 2.4 just went live in the Store and it finally brings small and medium versions of the Gob and Frodo themed tiles, allowing you to customize the look even more. While version 2.4 isn’t a major overhaul, it does bring with it a lot of small but tremendously useful additions.

We gave you a sneak peek last week of Simple Calendar version 2.0, featuring a swanky new Modern UI inspired Live Tiles and easy to read calendar system. While version 1.2 had been sitting on the Store we promised we’d update you when that major revamp went through and sure enough, it’s live now.

Version 2.0 brings with it a bunch of new changes, including another new Live Tile that we didn’t show you the last time: Gob. That’s in addition to Frodo, which we used in the hands on video. Gob has a background which matches your theme (dark or light) and dare we say it’s our favorite.

When it comes to the calendar app on Windows Phone, there are generally two camps: those who don’t mind it and those who yearn for a different, more configurable experience. And let’s face it, a lot of that comes down to how complicated (and scheduled) your life is.

Simple Calendar, currently available for Windows Phone 8 as a free app, is about to get a nice update to version 2.0. We’ve been using it over the weekend and you can color us impressed.

Back a few weeks ago, we brought you the news on Chronos Calendar, a powerful and sharp looking Windows Phone calendar replacement that actually hooked into your Outlook.com account. While we rather enjoy that app a lot, many of you shrieked at the design noting it wasn’t “Metro” enough.

Well, we think we have something for you vocal bunch: True Calendar 8. Yes, it’s a rather powerful calendar replacement that also hooks into your Outlook/Hotmail account so that you can directly add appointments and sync your other imported calendars.

We've heard this complaint a lot from people who travel and while we can't verify its level of annoyance, it seems it is pretty high on the list.

Basically, for some of you power people in the world, you require the ability to "shift" all (or a large chunk) of your appointments and/or tasks to different times or days. Certainly a tedious task by any standard and there is no easy way to do it, regardless of PIM choice.

While a bit pricey, the solution itself seems elegant enough and hey, if this can shave some frustrating work on such a boring task, it could be money well invested.

The app is demoed in the two videos below, so you can get an idea of how it works and what to expect. More info can be found here. Feel free to share your solutions in comments, if you share a similar problem and we'll see about getting a proper WMExperts review up of this app sometime soon, if you folks want it.

Personal Information Management (PIM) tools are the classic example of why PDAs or Smart Phones are useful. Having hundreds of contacts, meetings, and tasks all stored at your fingertips has been the justification for many of us getting into the handheld market. But over the years, Pocket Outlook has been a little behind the curve in both features and usability compared to some of the competitors on the market. When synchronization with an enterprise Exchange Server is billed as one of the selling points for the Windows Mobile platform, having the interface be somewhat stagnated can be a major issue.

In any conversation about replacement PIM tools for Windows Mobile, Pocket Informant is going to be toward the top of the list. Now in version 9, WebIS has improved overall usability and brought the application more in line with standards that are introduced in Windows Mobile 6.5. The question is, did WebIS do enough to make this update worth the $10 cost? Hit the jump to find out.

Before you start snickering, there are, in fact, people who still use AOL as their main e-mail account. And who are we to judge?

Now AOL is offering a way to sync your calendar, contacts and tasks — but not e-mail (yet) — with your Windows Mobile device.

Powered by Funambol, AOL Sync works with Windows Mobile 5 and 6 devices. There's no mention of 6.1. There's a comprehensive list of supported phones here, though some of the latest and greatest are missing.

So if you're big on AOL for your PIM information, give it a shot and let us know in the comments how it works.

The exercise of comparing and contrasting software is always a daunting procedure. As in politics, there are always people who have strong feelings in both directions, as well as people who feel left out (with good reason) if you don

The upgrade is free if you already have Pocket Informant 8, or if you purchased Pocket Informant 2007 after Sept. 1, 2007. If you bought it before that date or got a copy as part of a promotion, the upgrade will cost $16.95. Full retail of Pocket Informant 8 is $29.95.

Pocket Informant is available on Windows Mobile Professional (touchscreen) and Standard (no touchscreen) devices. Find it directly at www.pocketinformant.com, and we've got it in the WM Experts Store.